Welcome to the London Borough of Newham. We are a dynamic, forward thinking organisation with a talented and committed workforce and a clear vision, which you will help us deliver. The Comprehensive Performance Assessment has rated us as a good council, but for us good is not good enough. We are determined that we will deliver excellent services and become an excellent council, with strong foundations and an impressive track record of improvement. Officers and Members alike are totally dedicated, working together to make Newham a better place to live and work. These strong partnerships, our effective culture of performance management and our focus on the delivery of tangible outcomes enable us to make a real difference. The borough is also looking forward to being at the heart of the 2012 Olympic Games and Paralympic Games. As both an aspirational event and something which will bring unrivalled regeneration to Newham, the Games has put us firmly on the global map and we are eager to capitalise on the opportunities it presents. This is a great place to work, with the freedom and flexibility to succeed. Newham has massive opportunities both in terms of regeneration and also in the diversity, youth and vibrancy of its population.
We want your commitment and in return we can promise you a challenging, rewarding and satisfying job – a role where you will be respected and one where you will help us shape what we do and make a real difference to people’s lives. So if you are up for the challenge and want to play a part in the future of this borough, we look forward to receiving your application!
WHY WE ARE HERE
“By 2010 Newham will be a major business location and a place where people choose to live and work.” This vision provides the focus of our work, our priorities for improvement and how we determine what to spend our money on. We truly believe our vision is achievable. But we know that in an area where needs are complex and diverse and deprivation is high, we must stay focused on achieving the things that matter most to local people. We’re determined to provide excellent, relevant services for all. Our priorities include improving educational achievement, the health and well being of our residents, combating crime and anti-social behaviour, regeneration, employment and raising the incomes of local people.
We are working to develop new partnerships within the local community. As well as leading our Local Strategic Partnership, we work with businesses and the voluntary sector to promote the borough to help secure the best future for our residents. Throughout all of this runs a commitment to everyone who works for us. Yes we are here to provide excellent services, but that demands a real and sustainable commitment to the people who work for us.
We are determined to be a leading employer, to attract and retain talent and a workforce that reflects our community, to champion equality and diversity and to strengthen people’s capacity to deliver excellent services. And we want to ensure our workforce has the skills to take advantage of the new opportunities in Newham. NEWHAM – A GREAT PLACE TO LIVE AND WORK
In the heart of London’s East End, but only 20 minutes from the West End by tube, the borough is rapidly emerging as a leading centre of commerce and culture. Within its boundaries are City Airport, international exhibition centre and Excel. The Olympics will bring quality housing; better infrastructure and wholesale environmental improvement as well as raising Newham’s profile as the host borough. Also set to transform the borough are Stratford City – a prestigious development comprising 4,500 new homes, half a million square metres of office space, hotels, schools and a major shopping complex – and huge regeneration programmes in Canning Town and West Ham. An international passenger station at Stratford on the Channel Tunnel rail link is set to open in 2007 putting Stratford just two hours from the centre of Paris and Brussels. Newham boasts the youngest, most diverse population in the UK. More than 40% of the borough’s 254,000 residents are under 25 and over 100 different languages are spoken here. This fused with traditional East End values of friendliness, humour and community spirit make Newham a place with a unique character, guaranteed to endear itself. One of the fastest improving education authorities in the country, our school leavers’ GSCE performance has trebled in three years. Newham is truly a great place for families. With excellent parks, leisure facilities, the borough’s famous Green Street - the Bond Street of the East End - and of course Premiership football at West Ham United, there really is something for everyone. WHY NEWHAM IS THE NUMBER ONE CHOICE
We are a council on a journey to fulfil our vision. We are focused, with clear priorities and the ability to succeed; the change of pace here is rapid. The people we serve are our customers; a term we fully embrace. We believe our residents deserve the best in quality customer services. We’ve won numerous awards, including the Local Government Chronicle’s Council of the Year Award 2000 and Beacon Status for early years and childcare provision. The Government and local government organisations frequently cite the council as a model of good practice. Our residents too have noticed the difference. Our annual residents’ survey, shows dramatic, sustained improvements in the way the council is perceived by local people. We were also one of the first authorities in the country to be reassessed and upgraded in our Comprehensive Performance Assessment. We’re now rated as a good council, and we aim to be excellent.
Our ambition and freedom offers employees great scope and opportunity. We want bright, customer-focused people unafraid of suggesting and implementing new, dynamic ways of working, to enhance service delivery and improve the quality of life for everyone who lives and works here. We expect a lot, but in return you’ll experience unique challenges and opportunities. You will also have fun along the way. HOW THE COUNCIL WORKS
Newham is one of only eleven local authorities in the UK with a directly elected Mayor. As chair of the Local Strategic Partnership, our Mayor, Sir Robin Wales, has unprecedented influence within the local community.
With a Mayor, decisions can be taken more quickly, there is greater accountability and the local community benefits from having a strong, identifiable and visionary leader. The Mayoral model, together with political stability, means less bureaucracy and greater opportunity to be effective and make a real difference to people’s lives. GETTING THINGS DONE
At Newham, decisions are made by the executive through the Mayor or by Council Officers. The Mayor has appointed a cabinet of nine councillors, each with a specific area of responsibility, such as education or social services. Together, the Mayor and the cabinet are known as the executive.
Under the Mayoral model, much of the decision making process is placed in the hands of one individual. So it is vital to ensure the Mayor’s powers are wisely used. The two main roles of scrutiny are policy review and development and holding the Mayor and cabinet to account for decisions. A NEW CONCEPT IN LOCAL DEMOCRACY
Newham is pioneering the role of the ‘influential councillor’. This model of leadership aims to put councillors back at the heart of the community by enhancing the way they influence local decisions. The new model ensures all council and Local Strategic Partnership strategies are delivered in a co-ordinated, accountable way at a local level. Local community representatives feed back up through their elected representatives to truly influence the decision making process.
And councillors take informed decisions about, for instance, parking, traffic management and programmes of estate and improvement works within their area.
NEWHAM’S FINANCE – AMBITION WITH REALISM
Newham’s approach to finance may seem somewhat unusual. Yes, we have all the processes, rules associated with any local council but with one major difference – they support what the council does, not dictate it. As part of our change process we’re looking closely at local and external demands and expectations, and what work needs to be done to fulfil the council’s vision and strategic priorities.
With a relatively young population, services to and for children will always be high on our agenda; for our residents tackling crime and anti social behaviour is the number one priority, with a clean, healthy environment not far behind. These are some of the factors that drive the way we manage our resources.
Finance in Newham is about ambition with realism. We are not afraid of investing in innovation or new ways of working. We don’t get hung up on capital and revenue; instead we look for sustainable outcomes. Things we can actually see through to a conclusion. Those outcomes may be more or better quality services, cost reductions or income generation. We maintain balances at a prudent level, in excess of 5% of our budget. We are realistic when forecasting resources and savings, preparing budgets and when deciding how much more local residents can afford to pay in council tax. Whilst many of our plans and strategies are financed through funding regimes such as Neighbourhood Renewal Fund (NRF), and within partnership arrangements that attract additional resources to the borough, the bottom line is the council tax. With a relatively low council tax base, and many people still on low incomes, we can’t simply put council tax up in the way that some authorities do. With almost one-third of council taxpayers on benefit, and many others only just outside benefit dependency, rises in council tax hit hard. Consequently, while we have the highest formula spending share and budget in London, at around £420m, we have one of the lowest levels of council tax in the capital. Please see the latest jobs at London Borough of Newham below: |
